Heart By Heart
by ravenclawdemigod02
Summary: Clace is a couple that everyone loves.Be it in the books, or the TV show, you can't help but fall in love with these two soulmates and their epic love story that consists of so many twists and turns that you will slowly loose count of.This is a series of one shots that I imagined to have happened.this is my first work so pls read and review.constructive criticism is always welcome
1. Proposal

Clary knew that something was wrong today. Something about Jace felt off. It was as if he was afraid that someone would discover a huge secret which he was not wanting to reveal. It was as if he was trying to seem nonchalant about.

He wasn't being discreet. At all.

It was as if he had forgotten that Clary knew each and every fiber of him. The fact that she knew him well enough that she could be a human lie detector machine for him did not help his case at all. But he had not forgotten. After dating Clary for almost 4 years, he had known that he couldn't hide absolutely anything from her, not for a long period of time at least.

The only thing that gave him comfort was the fact that the rest of the people at the Institute knew about his plan, so they were always there to cover up in case he slipped anything by mistake.

Out of all the people that knew, Jace could say that Izzy and Magnus were the most excited. They were fangirling and screaming about how their ship had sailed and how their OTP looked cute together and all that nonsense so loudly that he was afraid that Clary would here them, even if she was all the way across the hall.

Hell, he would have been afraid about it even if she was in a country on the other side of the globe.

Clary knew something was up when Jace came to her and asked her if she wanted to accompany him to the greenhouse. For a picnic. At 11pm.

Yup, something was seriously wrong.

However, she agreed only on the condition that none of the food consisted of any of Izzy's cooking, at which point Jace had made it clear that he was not having any suicidal intentions and he did not want to 'lose all this manliness to death at such a young age' in such a cocky voice filled with arrogance and 'manliness' that she couldn't help but laugh. She was joined by Jace not very long after.

At exactly 11, she was greeted by Jace at the greenhouse. They went to their usual spot and ate while talking and, occasionally, kissing. Jace looked almost back to normal, except for the fact that hr kept on fumbling with something in his pocket occasionally. She wondered why.

Jace kept on looking at Clary. She looked so beautiful while she was laughing at some joke he had made. The way he felt for her and how much he loved her was something that couldn't be described in words.

He never believed in all that stuff that was written in romance novels about how there was one person out there in the world that you loved more than anyone else. Even more than life itself. How you felt that they are the most beautiful person to ever exist even if they didn't agree. How you could never get bored of just looking at them. How just one smile could make your day and how one look from them could drive you crazy. He never believed all that crap, I.e. not until he met Clary.

He couldn't describe how beautiful he thought she was. How just one smile from her could lift his mood and make him forget all his problems and miseries in just one second. How when he stared at her, her eyes would draw him towards her, as if they were some kind of magnet that attracted his soul towards her. He loved the way those bright green eyes would contrast with her feiry red hair that was always in curls and looked perfect to him.

He loved her and he had already told her but he wanted to show her how much he actually loved her and how serious he was about their relationship. That was the reason why he was going to take such a big step in their relationship tonight.

Jace had completely lost track of time and by the time he realised, it was almost 11:55. Perfect.

He suddenly grabbed her hand and started to take her towards the flower, in the exact place where they had shared their first kiss. She seemed confused at first and then realized their location and a smile went on her lips. He watched as the floor bloomed and how Clary looked at them with an expression of pure delight and awe on her face. He slowly went down on one knee and waited for her to turn and see.

Even though Clary had seen the flowers blooming a lot of times at midnight, she never grew tired of watching them. When she turned towards Jace to thank him for the wonderful night, she was pleasantly surprised when she was met with the sight of him on one knee with a ring in his hand, looking at her with an expression that showed his love for her and even betrayed a tiny bit of nervousness in his eyes.

Suddenly, it all made sense as to why he had been acting nervously. The thing that he had been fumbling with was the ring and he had been nervous all day because of want he was going to do with it.

Clary's hand went directly to cover her mouth in shock as Jace began to speak. " Clary, you know how much I love you and I also know that you love me just as much, maybe even more. If that is physically possible,i.e. Clary, I have loved you from the day I first met you. You had intrigued me in a way nobody else had ever done. Maybe you could call it love at first sight. If you consider you finding me killing a demon and me almost killing you a perfectly normal first meeting." He added with a laugh. " Maybe not, but when I later saw you at Java Jones, having a discussion with Simon, laughing at something he had said and being so comfortable around him, I had a feeling that I could only figure out later to be jealousy. When I had kissed you at this exact same place for the first time, I felt I was the luckiest person alive. But, when we thought that we were siblings, I was totally wrecked. I may not have shown it alot, but it completely broke me and all I've got to say that it was the worst period of my life. And I'm sure it must have been the same for you. But, Clary, when I found out that we were not related, it gave me the strength to defeat Sebastian because I knew I had to met you. I know that we have had a rough time in our past. Both of us. And in a world like ours when we could easily die any minute, I just want my last moments to be with you. What I'm trying to say is that , I love you Clary and I want to make you mine forever. I want to spend each and every moment of my life with you. I want to stay wit you forever. So, I'll ask you, will you marry me?"he finished with a hopeful expression gracing his beautiful face.

By now, tears were streaming freely down my face and I was making no efforts to stop them. Not trusting my ability to speak, I nodded my head vigorously, completely moved by the beautiful speech Jace had just made.

A grin broke down on is face, enhancing his features and showing how happy he was. His eyes were a mix of emotions, including happiness, excitement and a little bit of relief.

He slid the ring on her finger and kissed her passionately. They kept on kissing until they heard the clapping and cheering in the background. Startled by the sound, the broke apart and whipped their head towards the source of all the noise.

Standing there were Jocelyn and Maryse, who had tears streaming down their face. Luke, who was comforting Jocelyn as she realized how much her darling daughter had grown. Izzy and Magnus were literally screaming a ND celebrating the events, while Simon and Alec beamed at the newly engaged couple while glancing at their significant others with warry expressions. All of them congratulated the happy couple and had a big group hug.

Yes, sometimes life was difficult. You can't always have a smooth sailing life. There are always ups and downs. But, it is moments like these, where we are truly happy, that we should cherish and store in our memories forever.


	2. The Ultimate Torture

Here I was, in the mall, at 8 o'clock in the morning, following Izzy to wherever she was going to buy whatever she wanted to purchase and trying to listen to all the fashion tips and advices she was giving me. I thought that fighting demons the night before was the most tiring thing ever.

Boy, was I wrong.

I'm sure you all are utterly confused as to what is happening right now.Let's start with the beginning.

Anyone who knows me , even for a day, is aware of the fact that I am not a morning person. So, when I was woken up by something or someone that was not my alarm, you could say that I was surprised, to say the least. Nobody ever woke me up this early in the morning, unless there was an emergency.

Reluctantly, I sat up and I was not so pleasantly surprised to see Izzy hovering over me with an expression that shouted 'emergency!!'.

I told Izzy, "this better be good otherwise I won't spare you for waking me up at... " I checked the clock and my eyes nearly popped out of my head "7 in the morning! Are you crazy, why the hell would you wake me up at 7 in the morning when we don't have a mission!!!" I shouted at her.

Okay, maybe I overreacted. 7 is not that early, but hey, we were demon hunting yesterday and I was really tired.

Izzy gave me a wary look and replied in an exasperated voice, "I know that you are clearly not a morning person, but this is an emergency. Yesterday, during the fight, that stupid demon ruined my stilletos! Can you believe that! The nerve of that stupid creature. Those were my faves. I really wanted to kill him and . . . Oh, never mind. Tge point is that I really need new shoes. And I don't want to go alone, so you'll be the lucky person to accompany me and I'll buy you a new wardrobe too. No offence, but you, my friend, really need some fashion help."

I gaped at her with my mouth open, my jaw almost touching the floor,literally. She had woken me up this early in the morning just to take me to the mall that didn't even open till 8, which was almost an hour later. And that's exactly what I asked her about.

She gave me a sheepish smile and replied, "I guess you are right. Now that I think of it, it wasn't my best idea. But, whatever. Now that you are awake, stop being so grumpy. You are giving a Church a complex. And he's supposed to be the grumpiest creature. Now, stop whining like a baby and get ready so we can reach the mall by 8."

And with that, Isabelle Sophia Lightwood slammed the door and left me there to go through all the crazy stuff happened right now.

So this is how I ended at 8:15 at the mall, tailing Izzy as she tried on and rejected each and every single pair of footwear that the mall could offer till she found the ones which were the perfect design and colour and the heels were above the 'Isabelle Lightwood accepted height for heels.' Which, for those who didn't know, was always about 7 inches in height. Anything below 7 inches was a big 'no-no' for her.

Honestly, she is even more picky about her clothes and accessories than a child is about candy.

After almost 5 hours of surviving Izzy's tantrums,the various shops and constant criticism about my lack of fashion sense be none other than Ms. Fashionista, Izzy finally deemed the shopping trip a success and finally finished it.

Now, while I was massaging my aching ankles due to hours of shopping, I had only one thought in my mind.

Shopping is the ultimate torture.


	3. The Night We Met

It is said that it is practically impossible to forget your soulmate and if you want any proof, Jace would be willing to testify. Despite their relatively young age, Jace was sure that Clary was his soulmate.

Just an ordinary day, Jace had thought. This is gonna be just another ordinary day of fighting an ordinary place in a completely ordinary place.

Little had he known that this was not just another ordinary day. This was the day that changed everything.

He,Alec and Iz were making plans to go hint some demon at pandemonium. Everything was normal. Izzy was choosing clothes that would hide her runes and effectively distract the demon while Alec was constantly grumbling about how 'breaking the rule is not a great idea' and 'it would be better to take the Claves permission before going.'

Even though Jace and Alec were parabarai, they were polar opposites. While Alec was all about following rules and regulations, Jace was the number trouble maker and rule-breaker of the trio.

Completely ignoring Alec's grumbling, (which was ingrained in his brain since the beginning of time) he complemented Iz on what she was wearing (which he didn't spare a glance at. He knew her enough to know she would never wear something that doesn't suit her.) and left to go his weapons from the weapons room.

Iz and Alec quickly followed and picked their desired weapons and left the institute.

As soon as they reached Pandemonium, Jace went to get a drink. Iz apparently decided to do the same while they waited for the demon and Alec just shrugged off the offer and decided to stay at gourd, as usual.

As Jace looked around, he saw many girls. Most of them were hot and the kind of girls whose company he would prefer to be in. But none of them caught his eye.

None of them, except that one redheaded girl.

She was different than the others. There was something different about that girl. Maybe it was her choice of clothing, (While most of them were dressed in short, revealing outfits, she was wearing a simple shirt and jeans) or the feeling he got that she would completely ignore his one-liners and reprimand him for checking her out.

It could be neither, but that girl was special.

Before he could delve anymore in his thoughts about the girl, he quickly caught sight of Izzy going inside a room with a boy, or should he say demon.

Alec seemed to have noticed that too because he quickly tensed, grabbed his bow tightly and slowly followed Iz. Jace quickly followed pursuit, going quietly so they would not be caught (which was stupid considering that they were glamoured)

Little had he known that he was being followed by none other than the little redhead.

Jace was now paying attention to Izzy and the demon. Through the darkness, smoke, and artificial fog, her pale dress shone out like a beacon. Jace smirked. That was what Izzy's charm did to people, or in this case, demons. No wonder the demon was following her as if he were under a spell, too distracted to notice anything else around him-even the two dark shapes hard on his heels, weaving after him through the crowd.

Just as planned, Izzy had reached the wall, and was opening a door marked 'NO ADMITTANCE.' She beckoned the demon after her, and they slipped through the door. Alec stopped Jace at the door and he was conferring him about weapons and the plan. Jace quickly reached into his jacket and drew out something long and sharp that flashed under the strobing lights. A seraph blade. Quickly whispering its name, him and Alec quickly and quietly entered the room.

They were met with the sight of Isabelle holding down the demon and waiting for the two boys to arrive.

"Finally you show up. I almost killed him and had all the fun." She said in a pretty convincing mmenacing kind of voice. If Jace hadn't known Izzy how long he had known her, and he had known her for quite long, he might have believed her. Also, her small smirk gave her away.

"He's all yours boys."

This phrase filled his heart with joy and pumped adrenaline in his blood. Like a flash of lightning, he went to the demon-boy and boy paced back and forth, his arms now crossed over his chest. "So," he said."You still haven't told me if there are any other of your kind with you."

"I don't know what you're talking about." The blue-haired demon's tone was pained but surly.

"He means other demons" Alec said, speaking for the first time. "You do know what a

demon is, don't you?"

Jace could tell that Alec was getting irritated now. Not that this surprised him. Alec had a knack of being sour most of the time. Jace, on the other hand enjoyed these sessions with demons where they, however fruitlessly, tried to deny each and every thing the shadowhunters accused them of.

The demon tied to the pillar turned his face away, his mouth working.

"Demons," drawled Jace, tracing the word on the air with his finger. "Religiously defined as hell's denizens, the servants of Satan, but understood here, for the purposes of the Clave, to be any

malevolent spirit whose origin is outside our own home dimension-"

"That's enough, Jace," said Izzy. Even though Izzy was not as easily irritated as Alec, she too had a short fuse in such cases. Must run in the family.

"Isabelle's right," agreed Alec, as expected . "Nobody here needs a lesson in semantics-or demonology." Must really run in the family.

Jace raised his head and smiled at the thought.

"Isabelle and Alec think I talk too much," he said, confidingly. "Do you think I talk too much?"

The blue-haired boy didn't reply. His mouth was still working. Jace could tell that he was thinking about some plan time escape. As if he could if he tried.

"I could give you information," he said. "I know where Valentine is."

Jace glanced back at Alec, who shrugged. "Valentine's in the ground," Jace said. "The thing's just toying with us."

Isabelle tossed her hair. "Kill it, Jace," she said. "It's not going to tell us anything." As he agreed with her whole heartedly, Jace raised his hand, his seraph blade echoing in the lighting in the room.

The bound demon gasped. "Valentine is back!" he protested, dragging at the bonds that held his hands behind his back. "All the Infernal Worlds know it-I know it-I can tell you where he is-"

Rage flared suddenly in Jace's icy eyes. Now he had lost his patience too. This was what every demon had been telling them for the past 1 month and it was seriously getting to his nerves now. He just wanted to get done with the mission then and there.

"By the Angel, every time we capture one of you bastards, you claim you know where Valentine is. Well, we know where he is too. He's in hell. And you-" Jace turned the knife in his grasp, the edge sparking like a line of fire. "You can join him there."

Unable to resist the urge no more, he steeped up to give the final blow, successfully ending the demon's stupid life. Everything was going as planned.

But what he had not planned was the sudden revealing of a short, red-haired girl, the one who had caught his eye earlier. She was staring at them with such a fierce expression that if in a normal situation, Jace would've made a snarky remark about. But however, at that moment, only one thought went in his brain.

She can see us.


	4. Our Tree

Sitting under the the shade of the old willow tree, a four year old girl was playing tea party with her toys. Her fiery red hair in a messy ponytail, and her dolls and teddies seated on the other three unoccupied corners of the mat. She had a colouring book in in one hand and and a wax crayon in the other and she held the book up while her emerald green eyes scrutinised the colouring and checking for any mistakes. Deep in concentration, the little girl didn't notice the golden haired boy sneaking up behind her. He swiftly went over to her and whispered in her ear

"That is very pretty. You are really good."

Startled by the sound, the girl dropped her colouring book to the ground. She turned around and looked accusingly at the boy, silently blaming him for disturbing her and making her drop her precious art book. But when she saw the expression on his face as he bent down to pick up her book and apologised, she said,

" It's okay. My name is Clarissa, but everyone calls me clary. What's your name?"

"Jace," he replied. "Will you be my friend?"

"Of course, Jace", little Clary said with a smile.

Little had they known that their little exchange had been closely observed by a smiling Jocelyn, as she saw the beginning of a great friendship.

Years passed since that fateful day. Clary and Jace were now 10 and they were still the best of friends. They had grown up to be very different people. Clary mostly stayed quiet and did not open up easily to strangers while Jace never shut up. In a way they balanced each other out. Things had changed, but still, the old willow tree was always a place of peace for them. It was a kind of a code. When either of them was upset, they would head over to the tree and when the other one would be unable to find them, they would immediately following over to comfort their friend.

So, when Jace couldn't find Clary anywhere, he immediately headed over to the tree. And there she was. And even though her petite frame and posture would usually hide her well under the shade of the tree, her unruly red hair was a pretty big giveaway of her position.

Jace headed over to her and found her sitting there with her head between her bent legs and her arms wrapped around them. When he pulled her face towards him, he say tears cascading down her cheeks and her eyes were red from crying. He immediately started to wipe her tears and asked, " Hey! Clare what's the matter? What happened?"

She opened her mouth as if to say something. Even though her words made no sense, realisation hit Jace like a truck and he queitly asked her, " is this about your parents?" know the answer already. For the past few month, Clary's parents had been fighting about every single thing. In their quarrels, they completely ignored Clary and the effect their fights had on her. Craving comfort from someone, Clary had directly went to Jace, and being her best friend, he comforted her to the best of his ability.

" They are getting divorced. I heard Mom say that she had enough. And... and they.."

She burst in tears, unable to say another word. This worried Jace. He had never seen Clary cry this much. Not even once. And if she was this sad, then there was more to the story that was worse than the divorce. So he asked her, as gently as possible, "What's the matter Clare? I know there's more. You can tell me. It's okay"

Looking up, with tears blurring her vision, Clary said "Dad wants my custody and if he gets, I have to move with him. "

This shocked Jace. If Clary moved, not only would he lose his best friend, but also the only person who fully understood him, knew him beyond the facade he put up in front of the rest of the world and he couldn't afford that to happen.

" Hey! It's gonna be okay. You know how much aunt Jocelyn loves you, right? She's not gonna let him take you away. " He said and to lighten up the mood a bit, he added, "Besides, I think he's too scared to do anything against you. I mean he was the one who taught you how to fight and defeat a person in a matter of seconds."

" I know Jace, I know. I'm just a little scared, that's all. But, thank you for cheering me up," she said, finally smiling at him. As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she hugged Jace tightly, just like they would do as kids and he tucked a stray lock of red hair behind her ear and rested his head on top of hers while snaking his arms around her back and pulling her even closer to him, assuring himself that she was there, and not going away. That her mom would win the battle and not let her go with that man.

And as if it were written in fate, she did stay there with her mom, close to her best friend who would later on take a different and more important place and title in her life and in her heart.

As Clary walked over to him, she could see Jace sitting there, staring into space motionlessly, as if he was in deep thought. Time had flown, Clary was now 15, still shy as ever but a force to be reckoned with if you tried to mess up with her family or friends. A kind and modest girl, she was the only person who could control an extremely cocky and angst ridden, typical teenage boy Jace and live to tell the tale.

Jace was the exact definition of what you called a player. Extremely arrogant, disruptive during classes and to be said in the kindest way possible, a total ass, was like the one side of the coin while Clary was the other. She was what you would call a nerd, a straight A student, with no negatives in her track record and an added bonus for her accomplishments in the field of art, she was an ideal student. People found it weird that her and Jace were best friends, but then, they balanced out each other's personalities perfectly.

And that's why Clary was startled to see Jace in such a position that she couldn't help but say, " Oh my god!! I think the world's ending. Jace Herondale is sitting in deep thought as if concentrating about something. Surely, something drastic must have happened for a situation this dire to have risen." Jace looked up with a goofy grin as she finished with a dramatic flourish. Amused at his friend's antics, he let out a small laugh but quickly went back to his unusually somber and serious mood.

As she saw this change, even she went to a more serious mode and asked, " No. Seriously, what's wrong? Jace... Jace, what is it? Now you're scaring me."

" It's okay. It's just a girl"

Her posture loosened and she said, "Is that it? You had me scared for a moment. Had another ONS, didn't you? And now, you can't get rid of her. Or did someone deflate your huge ego like a balloon by rejecting you." She said teasingly.

But Jace was completely serious as he said, " No. It's nothing like that. There's this girl that I like. Maybe even love and I want to tell her, but I.. I just don't know how? I'm not sure if she even reciprocates my feelings."

At this she grew rigid and asked him, " So you genuinely like her. And I'm not talking in the player sense. In the real love sense."

" I do. I really love her. I've been in love with her for years now but I was never able to tell her or guess her feelings, as a matter of fact. That why I refrained all these years. Because I didn't want ruin any chances of. A friendship between us if she didn't like me back."

"Well Jace, I honestly believe that you should tell her. Even if you are not sure about her feelings. It doesn't matter. And when she sees the genuine love that is so visible, I'm sure she will not reject you. And even if she does, then that's her fault because I can see the amount of love in your eyes. It shines brighter than the sun , the moon and whoever decided to reject that kind of a relationship, well then forget her. Forget that she ever existed. Because you, Jace Herondale, deserve better than her."

Looking up at his best friend, any hint of doubt was wiped from his mind after he saw how she was so genuine and serious about it. There was no humour or carefree looks on her face. There was just utter seriousness and sincerity. And though made his decision even easier than before.

" You know what Clare? You're right. I'm going to tell her that I really, really love her, even more than I love anyone and everyone else."

"Yeah. So what are you waiting for. Go. Go and pour your heart out to her."

" I just did."

It took a moment for that to register, but when it did Clary's face was picture worthy. Her jaw was dropped, her cheeks were as red as her hair, her eyes had a wild, astonished look to them while Jace looked at her with a sly smile on her face.

"But... wha... seriou..." Her mouth opened and closed like a fish while she gaped at Jace.

"I love you Clary Fairchild. I've been in love with you since even before I can remember. I love you more than anything and I know that it sounds extremely cheesy, especially coming from me. But Clare, would you like to be promoted from the post of best friend to girlfriend?"

" Yes. Oh my God, yes. And you idiot, how could you ever think that I didn't love you? You're such an idiot sometimes. Actually, scratch that. You're an idiot most times. "

"But you still love me," he said teasingly.

"Unfortunately, that's true." And with that, Clary smashed her lips to his and they both savoured the moment, sitting right under tree.

"Yes"

This one word that was uttered by Clary had shaped her and Jace's future. Together. After 10 beautiful years of dating each other and 21 yrs of being the best of friends, the two star-crossed lovers had finally decided to take their relationship to the next level. A promise to be together, through thick and thin, rich and poor, happiness and sorrow until death did them part. A promise to love each other through the rest of their lives, and in the life beyond this world. A promise to never be parted, in life or death and to make their love immortal. A story to be never forgotten. And this one word by Clary had sealed it.

Even though they were only engaged now, it was like they had already said their vows and become one, once and for all. The emotions in both their eyes were enough proof of their happiness and elation. And as they kissed each other, embracing their one true love, the tree covered them, as if protecting them from any harm from the world, as they added yet another perfect memory to the tree.

"I do"

The whole crowd burst into applause as the happy couple exchanged their vows and 'I do's,' standing under the shade of the old willow tree.

It seemed fitting to the couple to add the memory of the best day of their lie to a place that already was so special to them. It seemed fitting to start a new chapter to their love story in the place it started in the first place. The place they met, they became friends, they became more than friends and where Jace finally proposed.

It was like bringing the beginning to the end. A Full circle.

But this was hardly the end. In all, it was actually a new beginning. A fresh page to write, a new story to tell. A different experience. An experience of true, eternal love that never ended. Of course there would be obstacles in their path, new challenges to face and a completely new experience to live and love. But right now, the two were perfectly content in living the beautiful present as they looked right into each other's eyes and showed each other how much they loved and cared for them, right under the cavern of their best memories.

Under their tree.

 **how was it? Please review. I would love to hear what you all have to say. And I'm always open to suggestions.**


	5. Homecoming

"Clary!" The shout resonated throughout the classroom.

Said girl looked up from her sketchbook. Clary Fray, a feiry red haired girl was, like always, stuck to her art book. When she drew, her emerald like eyes would get attached to the paper and her imagination would be locked to the sketch. She would zone out her surroundings and be completely deaf and blind to the world, even her immediate surroundings. So much so that her friends had often teased her, claiming that she wouldn't even notice if her hair caught on fire which seemed to have a temper of its own.

A 2nd year arts student at university, Clary wasn't reputed to be an extremely quite or closed-off person. But sometimes circumstances and present happening change our behaviour. Clary was no exception to this. For the past few months her anxiety had been at an all time high, increasing slightly everyday. Reason being that her boyfriend of 4 years and best friend since age 10, Jace was a part of the military. Clary wasn't usually this worried but for the past few days she had been. Reason being that Jace was somewhere in Asia, exact location she did not know. There was some sort of war going on and Jace, her Jace, was in the middle of it. She didn't know when he would come back, if he would even come back. In order for the safety of all the soldiers and refugees, Jace wasn't allowed to reveal his location and since their conversation could be easily bugged, he couldn't contact her either. And that was what worried her the most. The last time she had talked to him was when he had reached his location and told her about the no communication rule. She had tried to resist but she knew the reason and logically, she had no argument against it. So reluctantly, she had agreed. That had been around 2 months back. She didn't know how he was, when he was coming back or if he even was alive.

Her friends understood. Simon, her best friend since childhood shared almost the same pain. When Clary had initially started dating Jace, Simon wasn't very happy, taking on the role of overprotective big brother and there was a bit of bad blood between him and Jace. But slowly, they dissolved their rivalry and returned to being good friends. So, he understood and mirrored her feelings, albeit in a different way.

Clary suddenly snapped to reality as somebody called her name again. But it wasn't the gravely voice of her art teacher this time. It was sweet and musical and sexy at the same time. A voice she had so dearly missed. His voice.

Her eyes looked up to seek the owner of the sound to confirm her suspicion, not daring to hope but desperately praying anyways. And there in all all his glory he stood, all 6"1' of Jace Herondale in his army uniform, his windswept golden hair covered by his army cap and his usually guarded and lion like posture, regal and ready to pounce, replaced by a casual and carefree one.

When she had first heard his voice, it had taken her a great deal of self restraint to stop herself from pouncing on him and tackling him in a hug. But all this self restraint was chucked out of the window the moment she met his eyes. His usually cheerful amber eyes reflected her tear-filled emerald ones.

Her eyes started to scan his face, taking in every detail in order to confirm it was truly him. And that she wasn't day dreaming or her mind wasn't playing tricks on her. But as soon as she saw that trademark smirk on his face turn into one of his rare and extremely adorable smile that was only reserved for her and their friends , she immediately forgot about her surroundings. Forgot that she was still at college, forgot that she was in a room with all her classmates and that her teacher was standing right in front of her, awaiting her reaction.

The only thing, the only person she cared about the moment was him.

And so she ran towards him, ran like she had never run before and jumped into his outstretched arms and pressed a long lingering kiss to his lips. The kiss was wet, the salty tears from both of their eyes finally allowed to escape and they held onto each other, scared that they would be parted again the moment they left the embrace. It was wet and tight and seemed a little uncomfortable to others, but to them it was perfect. In those few moments, the both of them seemed to convey their love, their passion and the longing that had been lodged in their hearts since so long.

And when they did finally break apart to catch their breath, they didn't fully let go of each other. They stood there in the same position, with Clary's legs around Jace's waist and her arms clinging to his neck and his arms circling around her back, his chin resting on her head which was pressed against his chest, listening to the steady beating of his hear. No words were spoken between them, they didn't have to. Their eyes conveyed every thing they wanted to say. And while the rest of her class cheered and squeeled and some even wolf-whistled, Clary didn't care about it. She didnt have a care in the world at that moment. Because all that mattered was that he was alive. He was safe.

He was home.


	6. In Another Life

Her feet were hurting as she walked up the stairs to her room. Leave it to Izzy to force Clary to wear heels even at the age of 60. She was tired, though. Tired of everything. All she wanted to do now was lay down in his strong arms and think about them.

They had met in the summer of high school, two teenagers just messing around. She still remembered everything though. Their first kiss on her 16th birthday. The first time he told her he loved her after they both were heavily drunk from the liquor he had stolen from his parents. When they got matching tattoos on her 18th birthday.

They both had a passion for painting. They would paint together. She was his muse and he was her inspiration. Funny pictures, silly polaroids, immature face painting, she always knew he was the one for her. He was the only man she truely loved.

She loved the retro-themed parties and so did he. They would go on dates as often as they could. Dressed up in extravagant costumes and talking in silly, fake accents, they would amuse everyone with their era-aprrpriate dance skills. He was the Romeo to her Julliet, they never were complete without each other.

He never failed to tell her how much he loved her. How beautiful she always looked, irrespective of what she was wearing. That she would always be the one for him. All the money in the world couldn't outweigh her love for him.

They were barely adults when they moved in together. Sometkmes they would both creep up to the roof occasionally and talk about the future, as if they had a clue. They were just two kids barely out of school and had their whole life in front of them. She had plans for her life, but they didn't matter to her anymore if he was not a part of it.

Clary looked down at her wrist. The tattoo was still there. The heart always reminding her that she had given it away to him and that he would always have hers while she would have his forever, evne when they stop beating. She never wanted to lose him, never wanted to live without him, she never did.

As she laid down on the bed she remembered the fight. The day everything had changed for them. He was in one of his moods and she didn't have the patience to deal with him. He was almost done with his painting while all she could do was stare at her blank canvas. She remembered how he took her brush and drew random lines on the canvas, angering her. In her fury she had spilled red paint on his painting, not realizing that she had made the biggest mistake of her life.

Now that she looked at Seb, all she could remember was how Jace had stormed out of the flat, how she waited for him and the last news she got about him was a call about his car driving off the road. A part of her had died with him, a part that would never come back.

All the money she now had couldn't buy her a time machine, though. Neither could a million rings could replace him. She desperately wanted to tell him how much she loved him, missed him but she couldn't. She should have told him that then, stopped him but she didn't. Now, she was paying the price.

She still visited that spot sometimes, wondering how different life would have been if that incident had never happened. She knew that she still loved him. That she never truly loved anyone after losing him, not even her husband. But she never thought of him as a the one that got away. She always remembered him as her soulmate. A person she would spend her entire life with someday. Maybe in a different world. In another life.

Can anyone guess which song this is based on?

And Happy Holi to all those who celebrate it.


End file.
